You may have the quantity but are you getting the most quality from your content?
It's often the little things that add up to create the largest gains, and by implementing small changes you should begin to see your content flourish.
See if you can use any of these tips to improve the quality of your marketing content.
1. Use questions to find relevant topics
Humans are inquisitive by nature. There is always a question to be answered and there always will be.
Questions are great because they let you know what your audience wants to know - ideas for your content actually come to you! This means you can focus on content that you know your audience will love.
If you have the same question being asked or can see that there isn't an answer out there, use this to your advantage and be the first to provide an answer.
2. Use an awesome headline
It may seem obvious, but a great headline will make it much easier to market your content.
To get the reach your content deserves, you need a headline that will make people want to read what you have to say.
Remember the golden rule of marketing: sell benefits, not features.
3. Make it visual
Everyone likes a picture, even if it's just something to break the monotony of reading page after page.
By including an image in your content, you increase visual engagement which gives you more chances of someone actually reading what you have to say.
Here are two statistics if you're not yet convinced:
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Visuals are more persuasive.
A study conducted at the Wharton School of Business found that:
- 50% of the audience were persuaded by a purely verbal presentation
- 67% of the audience were persuaded by the verbal presentation that had accompanying visuals
http://www.macrovu.com/VTVCInterEffectiveness.html
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People remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read and 80% of what they SEE and DO
http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/viscomtheory.html
4. Use statistics to give credence
Following on from my previous point, statistics and facts are a great way to establish credibility.
Having something factual which backs-up your point can hammer it home to the audience but also means they are more likely to believe what you have to say in the future.
Knowledge is also extremely shareable, which in turn could make your content more shareable.
5. Use an easy-to-read layout
Great content is a pleasure to read. The flow of it just seems right and you're left wanting more.
Part of this comes down to how it's formatted on the page, to make it as easy to read as possible.
A good layout goes unnoticed and a bad layout can turn the reader off. Bad layouts comprise of too many distractions on the page, no clear direction of reading, small text size and generally bad design habits.
Counteract these by keeping your design simple and giving enough space around your text.
6. Deliver on what you promise
If you say you're going to give 9 tips, don't give up on 6. Well, something like that anyway.
Make sure your content offers the benefits or features it says it will and keep your audience's trust.
This could be as simple as replying to comments when you said you'd "love to know what people thought".
7. Convey your passion and knowledge
If there's anything to improve the quality of your content, it's making sure you convince the reader that you know what you're talking about and care too.
By conveying this, the reader is more likely to listen and feel like they are getting something out of it. This can mean they are more likely to share what you have to say.
8. Calls to action
You always want to get the most out of your content and having something which provides direction to the reader can mean the difference between a successful and a failed conversion.
Tell your audience what you'd like them to do next, spur a reaction or ask for a comment. Link to your article or share with a friend.
9. Don't just finish there...
So, the writer has written and the reader has read. But this isn't the end of it, surely?
Content doesn't have to be flung into the world and forgotten about. You should be nurturing it and if you're lucky enough to have feedback, be thankful of that and learn from it.
Truly great content can be evergreen, don't just forget about it after you've shared it.
Thank you for reading and as my call of action: use at least one of these tips in your next piece of content and please share if you found this useful.